A total of 42 geotextile tube units were installed in less than two months. The 100m breakwaters were formed by 12 geotextile tube units and the 50m single submerged structure was formed by two geotextile tube units. The weight of each element was estimated between 159 and 187 tons. This piece of the design was custom-made for the Barra de Navidad project.Įach of these tubes enabled an ~6.9m 3 volume/meter up to the 2m pumping height designed. The different lengths helped ensure that the ends of the geotextile tubes did not meet at any point within the 2-1 pyramidal configuration. The dimensions of the geotextile tubes installed at the terminal were 10.3m circumference, 27m and 23m long, and a maximum pumping height of 2m.
Breakwaters woven geotextile software#
Geotextile selection and software simulation testing were conducted together, in order to achieve an optimum technical, workable, visually acceptable, and cost-effective design.Įach Geotube® container had to be more than 20m in length and three mechanical filling ports were included to assist in evenly distributing sand along the tube length. The factory seam strength was 160kN/m, according to the ASTM D4595 and D4884 test methods.įiltration concerns took into consideration the apparent opening size (AOS) value of 0.6mm according to the ASTM D4751 test method respectively. The wide width tensile strength (at ultimate) was 200kN/m in both cross and machine direction. Woven polypropylene geosynthetic fabrics in black and tan marine beach colors (depending on if the tube was potentially viewable) were chosen. The geotextiles also needed to be inert in the environment. The tube fabric was selected based on the need to have high mechanical strength, excellent filtration properties, and resistance to natural chemicals (acid or alkaline), saltwater, and UV degradation. The pumping distance was kept in a range of 250 – 300m. The lagoon was dredged to return it to a healthy state, and reclaimed fill taken from the lagoon was pumped into the geotextile tubes.
These sand-colored geosynthetic structures were installed to promote sand accumulation and to prevent the Venturi Effect (sweeping along sand from the dune). Between each breakwater, a 50m single-level geotextile tube was submerged with a maximum height of 2m. All were calculated to be submerged at least 40cm, considering the mean lower low water (MLLW). The 2-1 pyramidal configuration (2 geotextile tubes at the base, 1 geotextile tube on top) was constructed to a maximum structure height of 4m. MORE GEO: “Healing the World: A Geosynthetics Solution” The breakwaters were designed to be 100m long and spaced 50m apart. Three artificial reefs were approved, in a section of 600m starting from the side groin. Wave propagation models and bathymetric studies were conducted to evaluate the proper placement of artificial marine structures. Slopes, highways, access roads, streets, buildings and homes, floods, power outages, and civilian deaths occurred.īarra de Navidad needed to re-engineer its shoreline.Įngineers designed a project that takes advantage of the hundreds of thousands m 3 of sediments at the lagoon for filling geotextile tubes to build protection structures at the beach front. Its landfall caused major destruction of infrastructures in the region. It concerned the area, but 2011’s Hurricane Jova-a Category 2 storm-proved to be the tipping point. Normal tidal activity and increasing sea storm intensity have led to erosion of the beach that separated the ocean from the lagoon area in which commercial activity was centered. Much of the commercial success is focused in a 2 km stretch of gold sand beach, and, in particular, in an 800m beach zone where the primary hotels, restaurants, and affiliated businesses are located. Today, the major economic activity for Barra de Navidad is generated by tourism, aquaculture, and fishing. The first roundtrip expeditions to the Philippines originated here. The town itself dates to 1540, when it became a Spanish colony. The town of Barra de Navidad, population 5000, is located on Mexico’s Pacific Coast in the Costa Alegre zone of the state of Jalisco. The technology involves the fabrication of a large containers made of a specially engineered textiles, which are filled with dredged sediments or sand on-site.Ī project in Barra de Navidad, Jalisco, Mexico, offers an exemplary case of the benefits and use of geotextile tubes for breakwater designs and beach restoration. The installation of geotextile containers can be temporary or permanent, and in most cases the structures are invisible to the coastal environment. By Angel Diaz and Chris Timpson – Geotextile tubes help to prevent storm damage and protect the environment through the building of custom marine structures.
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